


Stock Water

by ImpossibleClair



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Beheaded Cousins, Don't copy to another site, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kinda?, Soup, anne is Tired, anne should not be allowed in the kitchen, aragon and anne are a good mother-daughter duo so there's a hint of that, based on some excellent headcanons from our discord server, kat knows this about her cousin and takes care of her, kitchen disasters, she is a disaster
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-25 03:40:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22069321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImpossibleClair/pseuds/ImpossibleClair
Summary: Anne hasn't had a day off in weeks, and her exhaustion is definitely not going to help her cooking abilities.Really, she just wanted lunch!A bit of Tired Anne angst based on discussions on discord
Comments: 9
Kudos: 118





	Stock Water

**Author's Note:**

> My thanks to Ari and Amelie for the discussion where we gradually dropped the bar of what Anne would be capable of cooking until we reached 'literally just water and a stock cube' (aka the Asian instant soups which even Anne couldn't mess up)

Whatever Aragon and Kat were expecting when they arrived home, Anne sitting on the floor of the kitchen with a bowl of yellowish broth in her hands and pasta in her hair was not it. 

It was a two-show day. That usually meant a bit of downtime between the matinee and the evening show, and Anne had grasped that time with both hands. She was on her third week of consecutive shows, and although she loved it with all her heart, she was running on empty. She’d even stopped wearing her Heelys because she didn’t trust herself not to fall asleep on her wheels and careen into traffic. 

The thought of two hours at home – just two hours – where she could relax and maybe catch a few minutes of sleep in her own bed was too good to resist. She’d rushed home after the matinee, intent on a quick lunch and as much sleep as she could get. She’d promised to be back by 4:30pm, and when they hit 5pm, the other queens all agreed someone should go check on her. 

For a few seconds, Kat and Aragon could only stand there in the doorway, glancing between the dishevelled Anne and the – well, ‘dishevelled’ was pretty much the right word for the state of the kitchen as well. 

‘Uh, you… you okay there, Anne?’ Aragon asked tentatively. Something about the slump of the younger queen’s shoulders (and perhaps the faint smell of burning) warned her to tread lightly. 

Anne looked up at her. There was a tired attempt at a smile on her lips and something that looked like tomato sauce on her cheek. She gave her a thumbs-up, which immediately resulted in a lap full of hot broth as she lost her hold on the bowl. 

Kat yelped and Aragon leapt forward to snatch up the bowl before it hit the floor, but Anne didn’t make a sound. She sat there for a moment, jeans soaked and lightly steaming, looking down at herself with utter dispassion, before bursting into tears. 

‘Oh, Annie!’ Kat picked up a tea towel and crouched beside her cousin. ‘It’s okay, it’s okay…’

Anne could only sob, not resisting Kat’s efforts to try and clean her up.

Aragon was walking slowly around the kitchen. The burning smell was stronger by the stove, where she found a messy saucepan full of what she assumed used to be spaghetti. The burning became a thick tomato scent as she came to the microwave, which looked rather like a murder scene. 

‘Anne, what on Earth happened here?’ she asked, bewildered at how one woman could make so much mess. 

‘I- I just w-wanted lunch!’ Anne hiccupped. ‘But I b-burnt the pasta and the s-soup exploded and I’m just s-so _tired…_ ’

She dissolved into sobs again. Kat pulled a piece of spaghetti out of her hair. 

‘There’s a reason Anna and Cathy do the cooking, you know,’ she said gently, trying to coax a smile out of her cousin. ‘You’re almost as bad as Jane.’ 

‘Almost,’ Aragon agreed, considering the mess. 

Kat tossed the tea towel onto the bench and stood, holding out her hands to Anne. 

‘Come on. Let’s find some clean clothes for you.’

Anne whimpered at the thought of moving, but held up her arms and allowed Kat to pull her to her feet. 

‘I’m gonna call in and say you need tonight off,’ Aragon said, pulling out her phone. ‘And tomorrow, too, I think.’

Anne, still crying, just nodded, her head on Kat’s shoulder. 

Aragon ruffled her hair affectionately as she and Kat left the kitchen and made their way slowly upstairs. 

‘Do you want real clothes or pyjamas?’ Kat asked, sitting Anne on the edge of the tub in the upstairs bathroom. 

‘Pyjamas please.’

‘Back in a tick.’

Anne took Kat’s brief absence as a chance to blow her nose and wash her face, and when Kat returned, she was feeling a bit less of a disaster. 

‘Thanks, Kitty,’ she murmured, as Kat brought in her favourite set of green pyjamas. 

Kat smiled at her.

‘Don’t mention it. You’d do the same for me.’

‘You’d never end up in such a mess,’ Anne pointed out, swapping her stained clothes for the soft flannels. 

‘I mean, there was that time Jane and I tried to make pancakes.’

Anne nearly managed a laugh. 

‘True. Forgot about that.’

She yawned and tossed her clothes in the direction of the laundry basket. She missed, badly, and Kat saw her lip wobble slightly as more tears gathered in her eyes. She steered Anne gently toward her room. 

‘Alright, come on, you need to sleep.’

‘…okay.’

Anne’s room was a complete mess, but Kat knew well enough how to pick her way through the chaos. They reached the bed without stepping on anything sharp (which was rather a good achievement), and Anne crawled under the covers without prompting, snuggling down into the pillow. 

‘You just get some rest, okay?’ Kat told her, stroking her hair. ‘I’ll put your clothes in the washing machine before we leave.’

‘Thanks, Kitty.’

‘No worries. What was that you were drinking, anyway?’

Anne mumbled something, and Kat cocked her head. 

‘I’m sorry, did you say _stock water?_ ’

‘Yeah,’ Anne mumbled. ‘Y’know. You put the cube thing in the water and it makes… stock water.’

Kat had to bite down her laughter.

‘I’m pretty sure it’s a kind of soup, Anne.’

'Oh.’ A tiny spark came back to her eyes. ‘I _can_ make soup!’

Kat chuckled. 

‘Congratulations. Now, get some sleep. I’ll text you before we go on tonight, okay?’

‘Mmkay.’

Kat planted a kiss on Anne’s head, and navigated her way back to the door. Even before she’d flicked off the light switch, Anne was snoring softly. She quietly closed the door before letting out a giggle. _Stock water._ Oh, she couldn’t wait to tell the others about this. 


End file.
